PLANET IN PERIL

Huffington Post Police in the eastern Canadian province of New Brunswick arrested about 40 people on Thursday after efforts to dismantle a highway barricade turned violent and protesters against shale gas exploration set several police vehicles on fire. Full story here.

Português  |  Español  |  Deutsch  |  More Belo Sun No! Stop further tragedy on the Xingu River This week Amazon Watch joined a global coalition of organizations to launch a campaign in defense of indigenous and traditional communities threatened by the Canadian mining company Belo Sun. The Toronto-based company plans to build Brazil's largest gold mine on the banks of the Amazon's Xingu River in the very area that is most impacted by the disastrous Belo Monte dam.

This year’s World Food Prize will be awarded to top executives at Monsanto and Syngenta for creating GE crops.  GE crops are about feeding the profits of biotech giants, not the world’s hungry. 

E-mail the Russian Embassy to protest against the charging of these activists with piracy when they were only protecting the Arctic. =====

The Tyee In Mexico, local resistance to Canadian mining companies is growing as the industry booms. Full story here. Related:  CONFLICT DOGS CANADIAN MINING ABROAD

"It is dangerous to be right in matters on which the established authorities are wrong."  -Voltaire Common Dreams Bradley Manning: 35 years in military prison. Edward Snowden: Political refugee in Russia. Looks like Voltaire is more timely than ever. Whistleblowers and journalists are being hunted down in all corners of the globe for exposing grave and illegal government activities—the targeting of innocent civilians on the battlefield, massive surveillance operations, torture. They are being pursued for bringing you the truth.

Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives Migrant Workers in Manitoba. Details here.

Dhaka, Bangladesh (CNN) -- At least seven people died in a fire in a clothing factory in Bangladesh's capital late Wednesday, police and the factory's general manager said. Details here.

Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives It was a welcome change to hear politicians of all stripes talking about poverty in the lead up to the 2013 provincial budget and in the analysis that followed. Unfortunately much of the chatter will serve the interests of politicians more than those most affected by government decisions. Details here.

by Larry Powell I don't believe in capital punishment. Never have.  But maybe now is the time for me - and the rest of society- to step back, take a deep breath, and take another look. The profound evil which has been at play in the recent, horrific collapse of the garment factory in Bangladesh - killing hundreds of innocent workers - sinks to such depths of depravity in every aspect, such a re-assessment seems suddenly appropriate. And I'm not sure I'd stop at the owners of the building. Western multinational corporations  have blood on their hands, too, by using such despicable sweatshops to make their clothing, cheap - Wal Mart, Sears, Loblaws (the latter through its "Joe Fresh" clothing line in Canada and the 'States) - they've all filled their boots with more than their share of guilt. And the history of such things, steeped in blood as it has already become over the years, offers no way out for these heartless entities, to somehow claim ign

Billionaires are hiding behind a network of “independent” groups, who manipulate politics on their behalf. By George Monbiot... the Guardian  Conspiracies against the public don’t get much uglier than this. As the Guardian revealed last week, two secretive organisations working for US billionaires have spent $118m to ensure that no action is taken to prevent manmade climate change( 1 ). While inflicting untold suffering on the world’s people, their funders have used these opaque structures to ensure that their identities are never exposed. The two organisations – the Donors’ Trust and the Donors’ Capital Fund – were set up as political funding channels for people handing over $1m or more. They have financed 102 organisations which either dismiss climate science or downplay the need to take action. The large number of recipients creates the impression that there are many independent voices challenging climate science. These groups, working through the media, mobilising gu

By Dennis Gruending Edgar Schmidt, a senior lawyer in the federal Department of Justice, has taken a courageous and highly unusual step. Details here.

Dear Larry,  I've just returned from a wildly intense journey to the Xingu River in the heart of the Brazilian Amazon where construction of the catastrophic Belo Monte Dam has begun. There, I joined an occupation of the cofferdam led by fishermen, indigenous warriors and their families, including women, children and elders. What began as a protest by 13 fishermen turned into a 200-person occupation that lasted 35 days to demand JUSTICE NOW for their rights and rainforest homeland. They need your voice! Help these courageous leaders demand that members of the Brazilian judiciary stop stalling on the many outstanding legal cases against the Belo Monte Dam. Sign the petition for JUSTICE NOW! This year has been marked by glorious moments of victory and heartbreaking disappointments in the campaign to stop Belo Monte. During this recent occupation, our partners reached out in a truly brave attempt to foster real dialogue with the Brazilian government and to denounce

  P l e a s e   sign the petition, here!

If you enjoy this blog, please consider donating to the  author to keep it going. Just click on the link below .    Thanks!   Larry Josh Brandon: "One of the things I think that it shows, we have right now a government that is afraid of criticism.  Every time the Harper government hears word or hears voices that it doesn't agree with, its response has been to eliminate funding. So we've seen that, even civil servants now, like Environment Canada, they've had their funding slashed because they are reporting things like global warming, holes in the ozone layer, messages that the federal government does not want to hear. So rather than listen to the science, listen to the scientists, what we've seen is, those voices are being cut. That's true with the environment, womens' groups, it's true with labour." Please also read: "Cold Prairie Winds Not Enough to Drive Winnipeg Occupiers Out of Memorial Park" COMMENT:   Hi Larry, I saw you p

AlterNet Dear Friend, I'm writing to ask you to support an incredibly important film, one that will save lives and thwart what may be the most destructive pair of brothers in American history. A $50 gift today will get you listed as  a "producer" plus this exclusively designed Shepard Fairey t-shirt  with the Koch-topus logo https://bnf.actionkit.com/donate/kb_donation_alternet  By now you have probably heard of the nefarious Koch Brothers. They are two super wealthy radical conservatives who are spreading their billions to crush working people, destroy the environment, undermine health care, demean immigrants, avoid responsibility for their own death and destruction, and the list goes on. Already the Koch's have paid $30 million in fines for 300 oil spills, and invested $34 million to support groups who are trying to steal rights away from teachers,fireman, police, nurses -- our neighbors and friends. We have to get the truth about the Koch's to million